1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



83 



out and die on the floor during the month of 

 March that there are during all the preced- 

 ing months put together. If we could have 

 a nice warm day the latter part of February 

 or the fore part of March we might save a 

 large part of the bees which otherwise come 

 out and die. However, it's an open question 

 in our mind as to whether these same bees 

 which we find dead on the floor would ever 

 be carried back in the repository after being 

 given a chance to fly. Would not a large 

 part of those bees take wing and die outside 

 the hive? H. G. QuiRlN. 



Bellevue, O., Dec. 26. 



[What you say regarding the accumula- 

 tion of dead bees in the latter part of spring 

 being more than all the rest of the period of 

 confinement, is exactly true. As you live 

 in our own latitude, and your climate is 

 practically the same as ours, may I suggest 

 that you try this experiment ? When the 

 first warm day comes on in the latter part 

 of February or fore part of March (the 

 earlier the better) , give a part or all of the 

 bees a flight before setting them on their 

 summer stands, and return them the same 

 day toward night. If you do not find that 

 the number of dead bees on the cellar bot- 

 tom is considerably reduced thereby I shall 

 be greatly surprised. I argue that the bees 

 fly out of the hives in late spring mainly 

 because they are in distress, their intestines 

 becoming overcharged. I do not believe it 

 is true that bees in a semi-dormant state in 

 mid- winter wear out or become ' ' superannu- 

 ated." This old notion that they would die 

 anyhow in the cellar, and are therefore no 

 loss, if believed in may be expensive. It has 

 already cost bee-keepers millions and mil- 

 lions of bees, and in some cases I fancy it 

 has made all the diflference between profit 

 and loss. A strong colony in the spring is 

 sometimes easily worth three of medium- 

 strength ones. Indeed, the medium colonies 

 may get no surplus, just holding their own, 

 while the strong ones would obtain a good 

 crop of honey ; therefore I believe it pays 

 to save this fearful cellar loss if it can be 

 done. I am free to admit it may not be 

 possible in every cellar. We have two such 

 cellars at outyards in our own locality where 

 we can not control the death losses because 

 we can not control the temperature— that is 

 to say, we can not prevent it from going 

 below or down to freezing, and so we have 

 practically abandoned both cellars. An- 

 swering your last question, I should say yes 

 and no. But the far greater part of the 

 bees would return to the hive if the atvios- 

 phere is not too coZd— Ed.] 



HOW TO GET BEES INTO THE CELLAR WITH 

 THE BOTTOMS OFF THE HIVES. 



I wish you would tell how you get bees 

 into the cellar with bottom-boards off. I 

 had trouble with mine— bees all over the 

 bottoms and all over me. 



Pittsville, Wis. A. B. White. 



[The day before we expect to put the bees 

 into the cellar, when the temperature is 



down to freezing or a little below, we go 

 around with a pry, put it into the entrances, 

 and break the propolis connections. We 

 next loosen the bottom from the ground. 

 The next morning, if the temperature is still 

 down, we pick up bottom-board and all with 

 a pair of hive-hooks, carry the hive into 

 the cellar, and on arrival there we quietly 

 lift it off the bottom-board, setting the hive 

 on a pair of 2x4's. Another hive is brought 

 in and set down in the same way, but about 

 four inches from the one first placed. So on 

 we continue until the entire row is com- 

 pleted. Another tier of hives with bottom- 

 boards off is placed on top of the lower one, 

 but each hive directly over the space be- 

 tween two hives below. 



If you attempt to carry the bees in on a 

 warm day, they will be liable to come out 

 and bother. Wait till the temperature is 

 low enough so the cluster draws up in one 

 compact mass on the combs ; but make sure 

 the bottom- board fastenings are broken a 

 few hours before the hive is carried in. In 

 the mean time the bees will quiet down if 

 they were disturbed. If the work is done 

 right, there will hardly be a bee flying. 



If the bees should fly out they can be 

 stopped with a smoker, or shut in with a 

 handful or two of snow thrown over the 

 entrance. If the hive-bottom is left on, 

 the snow will melt away in the cellar after 

 the bees quiet down. 



Where the entrances are wide and deep, 

 and the colony not too strong, it is not nec- 

 essary to remove the bottom-board. In 

 fact, in later years we have had practically 

 as good results by leaving the bottom-boards 

 on, with the board turned in such a way that 

 the bees have the largest opening. The old 

 I entrance is entirely too small for a strong 

 colony, and should never be allowed in the 

 cellar except in a case of nuclei or weak 

 colonies. If the cellar has a tendency to be 

 too warm, the bees had better have the 

 bottom-board off. 



Some people secure good results by using 

 the old deep § entrance; and, instead of let- 

 ting the colony have their outdoor cover, 

 they put a light thin cloth on top of the 

 frames. Others prefer to put on a piece of 

 old carpet, and some prefer a chaff cushion 

 to absorb the moisture. Some of the best 

 wintering I have ever seen in the cellar was 

 with the old |-inch entrance, with a chaff 

 cushion on top. — Ed.] 



YOUNG bees; how soon they can assume 



THE active duties OF THE HIVE; A 

 REPLY TO DR. E. F. PHILLIPS. 



Permit me to say a word contrary to the 

 views of Mr. E. F. Phillips in regard to 

 young bees, and why they do not go to the 

 fields at an early age. When bees emerge 

 from the cell, every bee- man knows they 

 are weak and undeveloped, and that each 

 bee must "grow" exactly as a mother's 

 child does. Bees, naturally, are not taught, 

 but learn their ways of life by imitating 

 those before them. If Mr. Phillips will go 

 to the trouble of introducing an Italian 



